Petticoat construction



May 26, 1959 M. G. KYLE PETTICOA'L CONSTRUCTION Filed June 18, 1956 MARGUER/TE 6'- KYLE,

INVENTOR.

HUE RIVER, BEE I'll. E R, WORRE'L 8 HERZ/G, A 7' TORNE Y5.

United States Patent PETTICOAT CONSTRUCTION Marguerite G. Kyle, Los Angeles, Calif, assignor to Beverly Vogue Company, Los Angeles, Calif, a firm Application June 18, 1956, Serial No. 591,992

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-211) The present invention relates to a feminine undergarment, and particularly to an underskirt or slip comprising front and rear panels made of different fabrics.

For purposes of convenience in description, it will be understood that the term petticoat as used herein in the specification and claims includes underskirts of all types and descriptions including slips, half-slips, full slips, pettiskirts, and the like.

Feminine fashions often dictate that the garments worn should present the smoothest hipline possible. To satisfy this dictate, it is necessary that petticoats and other undergarments conform very closely with the female figure of the wearer.

Tightly fitting undergarments are, however, very uncomfortable if improperly designed or constructed. They frequently bind and interfere with ease in Walking. They creep up and result in gathering, thus defeating the smoothness of the hipline for which they are designed. This is especially true when perspiration is present.

Furthermore, such prior art tightly fitting garments are even more uncomfortable when the wearer is in the sitting position. If the garment is made of firm, unstretchable fabric, the wearer is extremely uncomfortable because of the tightness and binding inflexibility'of the garment. Such garments also generally are very Warm and uncomfortable in hot weather.

If such prior art undergarment is made of relatively stretchable fabric, it has a tendency to stretch out of shape in the seating posture, resulting in sagging and destruction of the smoothness of the hipline. Such stretchable garments also place strains upon the outer skirt fabric and tend to shorten the life of the same. These stretchable prior art fabrics tend to be relatively cool, but have the disadvantage of being quite transparent and'shadowy.

Accordingly, it is an important object of my invention to provide a petticoat construction which will establish and maintain a smooth hipline withoutinterfering with comfort and ease in Walking, sitting or other -activities or postures.

Another object is to provide a petticoat construction which will establish and maintain a smooth hipline without binding, creeping up, gathering, or the like, while walking, sitting or otherwise resting or exercising the body.

A. further object is to provide a petticoat construction which will establish and maintain the smoothest possible hipline for the wearer, will not gather, creep up or bind during walking or sitting, will not be uncomfortably warm during hot weather, will be completely shadow-proof, and will protect and lengthen the life of any outer skirt made of any fabric.

Additional objects will become apparent from the following description:

In general terms, my invention comprehends the provision of a petticoat construction comprising a panel of relatively stretchable fabric and a panel of relatively unstretchable fabric. The panel of relatively stretchable fabric preferably is positioned in the front half-portion Patented May 26, 1959 of the etticoat, and preferably is stretchable in the horizontal direction, but not in the vertical direction. In a preferred embodiment of my invention, the relatively stretchable fabric is used in a front half-panel of the petticoat. The stretchable fabric may be a tricot, jersey or other stretchable woven or knitted fabric. It may be made of natural or synthetic fibers such as silk, cotton, nylon, Dacron, or mixed fibers such as Dacron and cotton, for example.

The relatively unstretchable fabric preferably is used in the rear panel of the petticoat. In a preferred embodiment of my invention, the rear half-panel is made of the relatively unstretchable fabric. In petticoats designed for wear in hot weather, the rear panel preferably is of a relatively'firm and dense or opaque fabric, such as taffeta, and the front panel preferably is of a relatively sheer, cool fabric such as tricot, or jersey, for example. The rear panel then shadow-proofs the front panel of the petticoat and results in the advantages of coolness, comfort, outer-skirt fabric protection, freedom from seat stretch, freedom from sag, ease in walking, comfort in sitting, absence of binding, absence of creep-up or gathering, and retention of firmness and shape in the back panel.

A more detailed description of a specific embodiment of my invention is given with reference to the drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a diagrammatic view showing the front panel of an underskirt type of petticoat;

Figure '2 is a similar view showing the back panel; and

Figure 3 is'a somewhat enlarged partial view showing a seam between the front and rear panels, and between a waistband and the front and rear panels.

In the specific'embodiment of my invention shown in thedrawing, the front panel 10 is a front half-panel composing about half the material in the underskirt. The material employed in the front panel is shown in Figure 1 to be sheer and relatively transparent. This feature imparts coolness to the undergarment. A very satisfactory material for the front panel 10 has been found to be.nylon tricot.

Nylonftricothas been found to be quite satisfactory because it is stretchable in one direction and relatively unstretchableiin the direction perpendicular to the relatively stretchable direction. Nylon tricot is used in the frontpanel 10 so that stretching takes place in a horizontal direction, and relatively none takes place in the vertical direction. This property of nylon tricot is very advantageous.

It results in comfort in the sitting position because it standing tositting. This stretching of the nylon tricot accommodates *the bulge of the abdomen and increased curve of the hipline during the sitting position,'-butbecause of the resilience of the nylon tricot front panel, no sagging or gathering results to mar the smoothness of the hipline.

The firmness of the back panel makes it necessary for the front panel to take nearly all of the deformation. The nylon tricot, after being stretched in a horizontal direction due to the great deformation caused by the sitting posture, returns to its original shape and dimensions because of its high degree of resilience after the body returns to the standing or walking posture.

The nylon tricot, because of its sheerness, is relatively cool in hot weather, and thus greatly enhances the comfort of the wearer. The resilience of the nylon tricot, and similar fabrics employed in the front panel 10, permit ease in walking because there is no binding. They also prevent any creep-up during walking or other exercise, so that the smoothness of the hipline is preserved.

Other fabrics than nylon tricot are, of course, satisfac- 3 l Y tory for use in the front panel 10. In general, any elastic woven or knitted fabric can be used, including other tricots of synthetic or natural fibers, jerseys of synthetic or natural fibres, and any other relatively stretchable or resilient fabrics made of either natural or synthetic fibers, or mixtures of the two.

For cool weather wearing, the fabric used in the front panel need not necessarily be sheer, but it should be relatively elastic, or stretchable, for the reasons given above. In warm or hot weather, it is of course desirable that the fabric of the front panel 10 be relatively sheer and cool, as well as relatively stretchable.

- 4 A waistband 16, preferably of double thickness of fabric, is sewn as at seam 17, to the top of the underskirt, as

In a preferred embodiment, the rear panel 11 contains about half the fabric in the underskirt and is made of a relatively firm, unstretchable, strong fabric such as rayon taffeta. The rayon taffeta, or other desirable fabric employed in the rear panel, does not undergo seat stretch or sag, but instead holds firm. This quality enhances and preserves the smoothness of the hipline and adds greatly to comfort and ease in walking, as well as in sitting or other exercising or resting postures. The firmness of the back panel 11 also protects and lengthens the life of any skirt of any fabric worn over the petticoat.

The strength and firmness of the back panel 11 protects the skirt or other overgarment of any fabric by taking up the strain resulting from changing posture during walking or sitting. It protects the outer skirt, or other overgarment from these strains because it safely absorbs them by virtue of its strength and firmness. This is especially important in warm weather when these strains are increased because of the presence of perspiration. Under these conditions there is a greatly increased tendency for fabrics to cling while being subjected to strains which often result in ripping or splitting of the outerskirt or other outergarment.

When the front panel 10 is a relatively sheer or transparent fabric, such as is desired for coolness in hot weather, the rear panel 11 preferably should be made of a relatively opaque material such as tafieta, to provide a completely shadow-proof efiect. In this manner, the petticoat of my invention combines the advantages of coolness with the feature of being shadow-proof.

It will be understood that rear panel 11 may be made of not only taffeta but of other similarly strong, firm and relatively unstretchable fabrics. In general, the fabric of the rear panel should be relativelyfine and thin in addition to being firm and relatively shadow-proof. This fabric also may be woven or knitted of either natural or synthetic fibers or mixtures thereof.

Vertical pleats 12 and 13 preferably are strongly sewn into the top portions of the front panel 10 and rear panel 11, respectively, to establish the smoothest possible hipline. The front panel 10 and rear panel-11 are strongly sewn together at side seams 14 and 15 to produce a finely tailored garment of high fashion and practicality as well as a perfect fit, including a smooth hipline permanently built into. the etticoat. V

shown. An elastic or elasticized waistband, or any other suitable type waistband may be used. The waistband may be fastened by buttoning or by any other suitable fastening means. In addition, lace 18 of suitable design can be sewn to the bottom of the underskirt to add to its attractiveness.

A vertical slit (not shown) for perfect fitting, may be made partway down from the top of the petticoat, preferably along one of the seams 14 or 15, or in the rear panel 11, for the installation of a zipper (not shown). Snaps, or other fasteners may be used in such a slit but care should be used to avoid destroying the smoothness of the hipline by the slit or fasteners.

It will be understood that although an underskirt or half-slip is shown in the drawing, and described above in connection therewith, that my invention also is applicable to full slip construction. The full slip can be constructed by attaching an underskirt to a slip top, as illustrated, for example, in dotted line 20, at a seam such as seam 17, for example. Other means of incorporating the illustrated underskirt construction into the full slip may, of course, be employed within the skill of the art.

Accordingly, while I have herein shown and described my invention in what I have conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures can be made therefrom, within the scope of my invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claim so as to embrace any and all equivalent structure or construction.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An undergarment having a waist-encircling portion and a skirt portion depending therefrom, the entire front of said skirt portion comprising a front panel formed of knitted material readily stretchable in a horizontal direction and the entire rear of said skirt portion comprising a rear panel formed of substantially unstretchable woven fabric, said panels being joined along generally vertical seams at either side of said skirt portion, and said knitted front panel being formed as a loose mesh and said woven rear panel being formed of substantially opaque material to prevent the passage of light directed at the garment from either direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,623,637 Rosenthal Apr. 5, 1927 2,072,614 Birch Mar. 2, 1937 2,241,889 Schweich May 13, 1941 2,384,165 Goldfarb et al. Sept. 4, 1945 2,429,128 Hartridge Oct. 14, 1947 2,535,459 Roodner Dec. 26, 1950 2,724,120 Biern Nov. 22, 1955 

